Ono Pharma to acquire Deciphera Pharma
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing important new medicines to improve the lives of people with cancer, announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with ONO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (ONO), under which ONO will acquire all outstanding shares of Deciphera common stock for $25.60 per share in cash through a tender offer followed by a merger of Deciphera with a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONO (the “Acquisition”), for a total equity value of $2.4 billion
The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Together, ONO and Deciphera will accelerate their shared vision to deliver innovative new drugs and serve patients around the world. Deciphera brings specialized research and development capabilities in kinase drug discovery, well-established commercial and sales platforms in the United States and Europe, and global clinical development capabilities. In addition to Qinlock- Deciphera’s switch-control inhibitor for the treatment of fourth-line gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), which is approved in the United States and over 40 other countries, Deciphera also brings a mature, diverse pipeline of best-or-first in class potential medicines, including vimseltinib, DCC-3116 (an ULK inhibitor) and multiple additional oncology candidates. Vimseltinib is a highly selective switch-control kinase inhibitor with successful pivotal clinical data for the potential to be a best-in-class and first-in-class agent for the treatment of tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT), and potentially other indications. The Acquisition is expected to enable ONO to build a robust presence in oncology, one of its key priority areas, and also support ONO’s efforts to become a Global Specialty Pharma company.